Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir High Court on Wednesday dismissed former Chairman of BOPEE Mushtaq Ahmad Peer’s application, seeking suspension of sentence awarded to him by a trial court in April this year. Peer has been sentenced to 16-years in prison and fined Rs one crore in 2012 CET Scam.
“The application of the applicant/appellant, seeking suspension of sentence is found to be devoid of any merit and, as a sequel thereto, the same is dismissed,” a bench of Justice M K Hanjura said.
However, what cannot be lost sight of is that speedy trial is a right of Peer and it is also in the interest of justice, the court said.
The Court has to ensure speedy trial which holds true in an appeal also, the Bench said and asked Registrar (Judicial) to solicit directions from the Chief Justice for listing of the matter before the appropriate Bench so that the appeal by Peer against the verdict by trial court was heard and determined “expeditiously.” The court also directed that Peer be provided all medical care at regular intervals as he has contended that he was sick and suffering from some diseases.
A special anti-corruption court has sentenced Mushtaq Ahmad Peer to a total of 16 years of rigorous imprisonment for his involvement in the 2012 Common Entrance Test (CET) scam on April 25.
It has also imposed a fine of Rs 1 crore on Peer and Rs 50 lakh on another accused, Sajad Ahmad Bhat, who was acting as a broker in the scam.
